Time, weather and polar bears has this building on Kolyuchin Island, once home to an active polar research/weather station, has seen better days. — at Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka.

When the call comes through that the small island community you have been living in is being abandoned and you are being relocated to the mainland, what do you take with you? — at Ushakovskoye, Wrangel Island.

Alpine Forget-me-not — at Wrangel Island.

With the vegetation on the Arctic tundra no higher than a few inches, Wrangel Island opens itself to exploration. After a morning of chasing Musk Ox in the valleys we continued along the riverbeds up through the mountains. — at Wrangel Island.

All of the buildings are brightly coloured in the town of Anadyr (and other parts of Chukotka). Several of the buildings have art installations on the side, from maps of Chukotka to the people, landscapes and wildlife found in the area. — at Анадырь.

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. This Cathedral is the largest wooden church in Russia, built on permafrost, and is the only cathedral in Chukotka. — at Анадырь.

A Umiak at the Anadyr museum. A small boat covered in seal skin traditionally used for hunting and transportation during summer. — at Анадырь.

Anadyr is a beautiful little town, founded in 1889 and originally called Novo-Mariinsk, it was re-named to Anadyr in 1923. In 1932 it officially became the centre of the Chukotka district, but it was not officially a town until 1963!

The whole town is built upon the permafrost, and with the help of Roman Abramovich, Anadyr has been transforming into a modern town since 2001. — at Анадырь.

A long sunset over Anadyr Bay.

Rain, wind, snow, sun and sea shape the sea ice into many different sculptures.

Breakfast time off the coast of Wrangel Island. On todays menu, Walrus.

Spotted just after 8am on the way to our next landing, this Polar Bear showed a little bit of curiosity towards the ship, most likely it could smell the bacon being served up for breakfast. — at Ushakovskoye, Wrangel Island.

How do you stop curious polar bears from getting through the windows? — at Doubtful, Wrangel Island.

Polar Bear prints in the mud at Wrangel Island.

This could get messy…
Bird Cliffs at Cape Kikilin

When someone talks about bird cliffs, what image comes into your mind? For me it is images like these, where the sky is full of birds, and almost every inch of the cliffs taken up by resting or nesting birds - at Kolyuchin Island.

Willow Ptarmigan at Gilmimyl, Chukotka

The mountains of Wrangel Island are white for most of the year, but in summer show their dark (black) side. — at Wrangel Island.

Bones litter the ground at Cape Blossom. The hut in the background has been used by polar bear researches over the past 30 years. — at Wrangel Island.

The eastern most point of the Eurasian continent, Cape Dezhnev was once home to native Yupik people, before later being moved by the soviets to more central locations. These whale bones were setup in a way that over winter their boats could be raised over the snow covered ground. — at Cape Dezhnev.

Cape Dezhnev at the edge of the Eurasian continent . This lighthouse marks the discovery of this passage, but no longer warns nearby ships of the cape.

The many colours of summer on the mountains at Wrangel Island.

Common Guillemot's on the ice at Cape Florens — at Wrangel Island.

Common Guillemot at Cape Kikilin

Common Guillemot — at Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka.

Cotton grass blowing in the wind… at Gilmimyl, Chukotka

A short summer in the Arctic, with the melting permafrost and snow turning creeks into rivers before freezing over again in a few weeks.

The coastal mountains that line our way back to Anadyr show the signs that the Arctic summer is drawing to a close.

Almost standing the test of time, the remains of the Eskimo village that once thrived at Cape Dezhnev are all around, using rocks, driftwood and whale bones in the construction of homes and meat 'freezers'.

Living the simple life. This family is preparing food for the winter, whilst the younger kids play games. There are wolf and fox skins drying — at Gilmimyl.

The sea ice in the Arctic to me looks quite different to the sea ice in the Antarctic. After having visited the Antarctic first, I'd find myself stepping out on the deck thinking that something was missing. There are no penguins sitting on the ice and no huge icebergs floating all around.

Basic accommodation at the guest house on Wrangel Island.

Snow Geese in the morning outside of the Doubtful guest house. — at Wrangel Island.

On our second visit to Gilmimyl we met a family who had left a nomadic reindeer herding community last year. Whilst her sister, mother and grandmother prepare food for the winter — at Gilmimyl, Chukotka.

Gray whales going about their summer feeding. During summer they spend the majority of their time feeding, before moving south to their breeding grounds where they will live off their fat deposits until the following summer.

At the edge of the Eurasian continent this little character is just chillin, waiting for peeps to visit. — at Cape Dezhnev.

Higher, further, faster. On our way back to port we had a bit of time to explore the Siberian coast. The trek for group one was described as 'we are going to go as far as we can, and as high as we can.' About a dozen people signed up for this trek with such an amazing view.

Wildlife highlights for this trek were the amazing Arctic Hare's, growing up to 70cm long and able to travel 64km/h they weren't the easiest to photograph!

Birds take up almost every available space on the cliff faces here. This Horned Puffin surveys the options before coming in to land. — in Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka.

Horned Puffins — at Колючин.

Explore through the river and valleys or soak in the hot spring? — at Gilmimyl, Chukotka

With ice blue eyes, and very soft fur this Siberian Husky puppy won the hearts of everyone that met her. — at Gilmimyl, Chukotka.

Siberian Husky puppy fascinated by the ripples in the water on a misty day at Uelen.

Uelen is home to some of the best ivory carvers in the world. From carvings of seals, to scenes that tell a story, to model boats. During the long winter when the sea is frozen over and there is nothing to hunt some of the Chukchi people will fill their time with ivory carving.

(Most of the ivory is obtained legally through their indigenous kill quota of walrus and whale; or from reindeer herding.) — at Uelen, Chukotka.

One of the local Chukchi residents practices her ivory carving skills with her teacher watching on and also working on his carvings. — at Uelen, Chukotka.

I wonder how many layers of clothing you would need to visit the outhouse in the middle of winter. Main building of this abandoned polar research station visible to the right. — at Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka.

Once running on diesel fuel, this lighthouse has been upgraded with solar panels to provide power. However an all too familiar scene in the Arctic remains all around, the rusting fuel drums.

One of the many monuments found along the coast dedicated to the sailors who have lost their lives traversing the top of the world. — at Kolyuchin Inlet.